The Manhattan District Attorney reinforces the team that investigates possible allegations of fraud against Trump and his company

The Manhattan District Attorney reinforces the team that investigates possible allegations of fraud against Trump and his company

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Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor and a reputable defense lawyer and trial lawyer with experience in financial institutions, was sworn in earlier this month as special assistant prosecutor, Danny Frost, spokesman for prosecutor Cy Vance, said to CNN.

Vance’s office is investigating whether the Trump Organization has violated state laws and is investigating the legality of tax deductions, including conservation easements and advisory fees the company has taken, as well as what the Trump Organization has told creditors and tax authorities about the value of your assets.

Pomerantz, who is a retired partner at the law firm Paul Weiss, could not be reached for comment. The New York Times reported for the first time that Pomerantz joined Vance’s team.

By adding Pomerantz, prosecutors gain an experienced lawyer, immersed in criminal law and someone who knows the intricacies of financial investigations.

Pomerantz was the head of the criminal division of the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan from 1997 to 1999. He was a partner at Paul Weiss for more than a decade until he retired. As a defense attorney, he represented several individuals and financial institutions in complex financial fraud investigations.

Vance’s investigation began his investigation seriously in August 2019, initially examining the secret payments that Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, facilitated to silence two women’s allegations that they had affairs with Trump. The former president denied the cases.

It grew to include claims, also made by Cohen, that the Trump Organization inflated assets by seeking loans and deflated them when it came time to pay taxes. Cohen was interviewed several times by Vance’s investigators, including this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Prosecutors are investigating several loans that the Trump Organization has made, including those from Deutsche Bank and Ladder Capital, said people familiar with the investigation.

Investigators initially began examining Ladder Capital’s loans after ProPublica reported discrepancies between the amounts the Trump Organization gave Ladder Capital and what it provided to New York City tax authorities, sources told CNN. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio asked Vance’s office to examine the allegations and they agreed, the sources said.
Since then, prosecutors have expanded their investigation into the fees Trump paid consultants, including his daughter Ivanka Trump. They are also investigating tax deductions made on conservation easements at the Trump estate in Westchester County, New York, called Seven Springs.

The Trump Organization said it complied with all laws.

Prosecutors have been fighting a long legal battle over a grand jury summons to Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, for Trump’s financial records, including his tax returns. The case is back in the Supreme Court, which has yet to decide whether Vance can have the case.

Vance’s office said the records are crucial to the investigation, in part because of the statute of limitations for the potential crimes they are investigating.

CLARIFICATION: This story and its title have been updated to clarify that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization are facing possible claims of fraud.

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